Name: Depths

Medium: Acrylic

Size: 90 x 150 

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I created this piece in my senior year of college, an intense time when I was working on both my thesis and a solo exhibition. I was under tremendous pressure, and this work reflects a moment of cathartic release. I believe that it represents the turmoil of my internal emotional landscape. I had no clear idea, no plan for the form the composition would take, the shapes spontaneously emerged as I applied the paint. The splatter technique provided an outlet for my physical energies and allowed me to get lost in the creative process, to find a moment of solace in the midst of my struggle. It follows that the artwork serves as an externalization of powerful emotion. Like the sea, the piece represents a surface broken by wave-like crests and but also suggests the churning currents beneath.

 

The piece is experimental in the way it was put together. I vigorously splashed or flung the acrylic paint onto the canvas and the resulting forms capture a strong sense of motion. Numerous lines draw the eye in movements that are fluid and changing and there are various textural effects as paint overlaps or merges. I feel that the light and white spaces are particularly significant, providing a sharp contrast with the darker blue tones. The spaces create a sense of depth within the piece, while the use of multiple shades of blue overlap and play off one another. Abstract expressionist artists like Jackson Pollock pioneered art that expressed powerful feelings. This piece, although crude and unstructured in some ways, captures an intensity that is highly emotional in its effect. 

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